Curcuma longa commonly referred to as turmeric is used in south Asian cooking, as a cosmetic, and in the ancient Ayurvedic system of medicine. The Banerjee lab at College of Staten Island and other groups have established that curcumin (1Z,6Z)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hepta-1,6-diene 3,5-dione, the primary active ingredient in turmeric, has potent anticancer properties. Curcumin exerts its anticancer effect through the suppression of NF-kβ. Curcumin mediates its therapeutic effect by regulating the transcription factor NF-kβ and NF-kβ regulated gene products COX-2, cyclin D1, adhesion molecules, MMPs, inducible nitric oxide synthase, Bcl-XL, Bcl-2 and TNF.

Curcumin has two phenolic groups, which can be used for chemical modification. Most curcumin derivatives reported in literature are symmetric in that both the phenolic groups have been chemically modified in the same way. Rare exceptions have been reported. For example, the Mizushina, et al. reference [5] reported the use of monoacetylcurcumin as an inhibitor of eukaryotic DNA polymerase λ and as a ligand for inhibitor-affinity chromatography. See Mizushina, et al. Monoacetylcurcumin: A new inhibitor of eukaryotic DNA polymerase and a new ligand for inhibitor-affinity chromatography, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (2005) 337, 1288-1295. The utility of monoacetylcurcumin is limited since it does not contain a reactive group at the phenolic position.
One of the major limitations of unmodified curcumin is its poor water and plasma solubility. A recent study has shown that even doses as high as 8 g of curcumin per day administered to human subjects result in an average peak serum concentration of only 652.5 ng/ml [9]. There is a need for curcumin derivatives that have improved water solubility and that still maintain their biological activity. For example, unmodified phenolic groups, in many cases, are responsible for beneficial antioxidant properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,415 describes a bioprotectant composition containing curcuminoids, their method of use and extraction processes for obtaining them. Curcuminoids were found to have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, ant parasitic, antimutagen, anticancer, and detox properties. U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,924 describes a method of inhibiting the activation of NF kappa B transcription factor using curcumin. U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,327 describes a cross-regulin composition of tumeric derived tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) for skin lightening and protection against UVB rays. U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,898 describes tumeric extracts to be effective in treating beta-Amyloid protein-induced disease.